Monday, May 31, 2010

Coffee Table Turned Flower Pot

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We finally finished converting the free coffee table I got off of Craigslist into a flower pot and I LOVE how it turned out!
I got the table a week ago thinking I would use it in my family room, but when I got it home, it turned out to be entirely too small.  I was trying to think of alternate uses for it when my husband suggested we plant flowers in it.  I agreed immediately and began plotting just how I’d do it.

Here’s what it looked like when I started:

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It was a bit worse for wear and someone had been gnawing on the corners.

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My first task was to try to improve the corners a bit.  It’s going outside, so I knew it didn’t have to be perfect, but I wanted it to be a little smoother looking.  Out came the wood putty and sandpaper and the chewed corners began  looking a little better.

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Next came primer and it’s looking better already!

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I love the detail on the front.  I think it makes it look so dainty!

Next, it got several coats of aqua spray paint.  The color was a bit garish, but I knew it was going to be toned down quite a bit by the time I was done, so I kept painting.  I wanted it distressed, so I sanded down the edges after each coat of paint.

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To tone down the aqua, I grabbed some wood stain and a rag and went to work.  I’d never aged or distressed anything, so I was a little concerned about this step, but I figured, worst-case, I’d have to repaint it.

I wasn’t sure how long to leave the stain on or how much stain to wipe off, but I soon learned that it worked best if I wiped it off just after I put it on and if I actually tried to get ALL the stain off.  The stain got left in the nooks and crannies and in any scratches on the wood, so it made it look old and weathered.

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Once the paint had dried, I gave it three coats of spray Poly Acrylic.  I wasn’t a fan of the spray while I was doing the coats because it was hard to tell where it went and it never seemed thick enough.  Once it dried, though, it was clear that it had very good coverage.

At this point, I was really excited!  It was shaping up better than I had dreamed.  We were heading into the more iffy part of this project, though: making the plant “boxes”.
The plan was to use chicken wire and coconut liners to  make our own planters.  We debated how to attach the chicken wire to the table and eventually decided to staple it to the inside of the vertical pieces.

We folded the chicken wire into a box and used zip ties to hold the corners together:

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(Make sure you use gloves when working with wire…that stuff hurts!)

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Once the boxes were ready, we stapled them to the wood with as many staples as we could possibly fit in.

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I’m a little bit concerned about how well this will hold over the long-term, but it seems to be pretty strong so far!
Then, we stuffed in the coco-liners.

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It’s raining outside this morning, but I couldn’t wait to see  the final results, so out I went in the rain to finish planting.  And now I have first-hand knowledge that the poly is working: the rain is just beading up on top.

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And here it is:

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I am in love!
 
UPDATE: I’m seeing a TON of referrals to this project from somewhere on Facebook, but I can’t tell from where.  So, if you got here from Facebook, can you pretty PLEASE tell me who featured me?  Thanks!
 
 

I’m going crazy this week and linking up to:
The DIY Show Off toolsareforwomentoo Making All Thingz Related  http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/ Visit thecsiproject.com Show and Tell Green
giveaways

Garden Party 2010 at Southern Fried Dreams

58 comments:

  1. I love it! Great job. I would never have thought to make it into a planter but it works great.

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  2. Now that is one adorable project. I wonder what the people you got the table from would think? I be like "why did I ever get rid of that?" LOL Really really cute project!

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  3. Very cute and so creative! Cooper looked like a huge distraction in the background. I can't wait until my little one sees it tomorrow.

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  4. Well done. Your coffee table - cum - planter is fantastic. I just antiqued and stained a bench for the first time this month too. It is kind of fun and now I'm looking around for other projects to do.

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  5. How awesomely creative! I never would have thought of something like this. you did a fantastic job!

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  6. THIS is my favorite furniture redo I've seen online! The planter idea is clever and the whole project came out beautifully! Totally love this, you guys rock!

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  7. This is so cute! The color is perfect too!

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  8. What a cute little project - looks great and I love the colour!

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  9. wow...very creative use of the coffee table!
    Love it...

    Alyssa
    http://lifeoflyssie.com

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  10. Love it! What a great idea!

    Mary Ellen

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  11. Too cute- I have seen it done with chairs but never a table..adorable..
    tammy

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  12. Love it! Such a great idea!!

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  13. I have a sofa table that I've had for years, I got rid of the matching coffee table 10 years ago. Guess what? It has two glass inserts in it also, just like your table. I moved recently and my new place is much smaller. I was planning to get rid of mine, but now I'm going to do this and put it on my back porch. Thanks, it will be lovely!

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  14. Very cute! And my favorite color. :) Lisa~

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  15. Such an original idea! Would never thought of using a coffee table for a planter!! I love the color you painted it too!

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  16. Good job on that corner! I would have NEVER thought of using that table like that! WOW! THanks for joining us for Anything Related! ~Bridgette

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  17. I'm totally in awe, it looks fantastic and such a clever use of the table.

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  18. What a cute and super creative project! I love how it turned out!

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  19. I love it too, what a great idea!

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  20. This is amazing! I love that you were so creative with it!

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  21. it looks fabulous! Very clever!

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  22. Came over from the CSI blog and I love this- especially the color--what a great idea!

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  23. Super cute!! I am here from the CSI Project and I just LOVE this idea!! I need to find me a cute little table to do this with!!

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  24. I love this! I'll be featuring it on Tuesday the 8th on BCD! Thanks for linking!

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  25. This project is just so fun. I love that you repurposed that table. And the color is awesome. I blogged about it on my tatertots site.

    Thanks so much for linking up to The CSI Project's hardware Store Challenge! We hope you will come back next week for the Martha Stewart-inspired challenge -- The MS Craft Department are our guest judges!!!

    XOXO
    Jen

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  26. This is super cute. I would have never thought of doing this in a million years! I especially love the baskets - brilliant!

    Why not go a little crazier and link to my garden party?

    Have a blessed weekend!

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  27. Hi, I'm visiting from met monday. This is a great idea, very clever and I love the colour you used too.
    Donna xx

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  28. Hello! I found you through Southern Fried Dream's garden party. Your coffee table transformation is very creative and beautiful! Thanks for sharing it :)

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  29. Wow! Now I'm on the hunt for an old beat up coffee table! Stopping by from Southern Fried Girl!

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  30. I absolutely LOVE this! How creative! I am your newest follower :)

    I hope you'll visit my blog, too!
    theeclecticowl.blogspot.com

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  31. I can't believe how nice this came out! It looks great. I'm off to look for free coffee tables now. ;-)

    -FringeGirl

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  32. I love that color! Very clever.

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  33. Congratulations on being the top 10 on CSI! This is so fun and fabulous!! Will you be linking up next week?

    Im your new follower.
    Londen

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  34. hi diane! congrats on making the top 10 for the csi project! this table was such a clever remake, and the color is amazing!

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  35. great idea on redoing the coffee table, not many would of thought of that!

    Helen

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  36. pure genius...this is wonderful!

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  37. Stopped by since I am in your group on telling our life stories...this is just great!!! I can tell you have the blogging thing down better than I do.
    Nice to meet you...love this,
    Janette

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  38. I just wanted to pop by and say "congrats" on being featured on Blue Cricket Designs! Awesome!!

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  39. What an awesome idea! I love the color too!

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  40. LOOOOOVE this:) Thanks for sharing...I'll be making one of these pretties for the cottage!!!

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  41. Oh my gosh! I love this. I love the color. I've been wanting to paint something this color, but it doesn't match my house. Perfect to take it outdoors. I have to make one. Thanks for the idea.

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  42. visiting from Shabby Nest,frugal friday and just had to comment. this is one adorable project!! what a great idea and it is super cute!

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  43. Fabulous work, I absolutely love the turnout and the colour :)

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  44. That is fantastic - totally creative - well done! I can hardly wait to see it IRL. WTG, HB!

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  45. I love it! Looking forward to see more of your creativity.

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  46. I love this, Im going to be on the look out for something similar on CL for my back porch!

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  47. Sugardoodle posted this on Facebook. So cute!

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  48. I came here from Sugardoodle, too. I love the idea.

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  49. Sheer Genius!!! I adore this... I'm featuring it in the Spotlight at the POPP on Saturday!

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  50. Love the paint finish...I have my own business refinishing furniture...so funny...Perfectly Imperfect Restoration, and blog too. :) Great minds and all! So nice to meet you!

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  51. I love this! So clever! I found you on facebook from the Fan photos of Knock-Off Wood when you featured the beds you made...which are awesome! My husband and I found a bed on Craigslist for $40. It is all real wood (super heavy) it was an ugly whitewash 80's color. We painted it black and distressed it and it came out beautiful. People think we paid over $3000 for it! Love Craigslist. Thank you for the inspiration!

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  52. Love it! If you'd like to see what your table would look like if it was painted Heirloom White & lived in California -- it's twin is on http://www.centsationalgirl.com/ in her family room!

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  53. This is so cute, you've done such a good job on it, I love the look of furnture outside, caan't wait to see what else you come up with.
    New comer to the sight, LOVE IT!!!!

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  54. I found this post on Sugardoodle facebook.
    Love it!!

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